First M4?

[Stitch_626_75]

I've been playing for a couple of months now and just recently bought my first pistol. I've been looking at what I want to get for a rifle and I'm pretty sure I want to get an M4 but I'm really not sure what brand to get. SRC and G&G seem to be pretty reasonable to get in Calgary but I'm not sure what to go with. I would really like some people's input who have been playing for longer.

I'm going to be mainly playing indoors for the next while until I get all the gear I need to play outdoors, so I want to get an M4 that I can make shoot under 320 FPS (because that's the limit where I play indoors) but that I can adapt back so that it will shoot faster when I finally get outdoors!

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

P.S. I am trying to get age verified soon, I'm just having a hard time finding a chance to meet up with the people who can age verify in Calgary!

[tylamarre]

Aftermath airsoft knight cqb, clear version (that doesnt mean its clearsoft) -170$ and pro game compatible, 375 fps, i suggest an m100 spring if you want 120.

[Disco_Dante]

Originally Posted by tylamarre

Aftermath airsoft knight cqb, clear version (that doesnt mean its clearsoft) -170$ and pro game compatible, 375 fps, i suggest an m100 spring if you want 120.

let's not suggest crap right out of the gate.


OP: SRC and G&G will suit your needs fine.

[tylamarre]

Aftermath knight cqb, clear version $170, 375-380 fps. I suggest m100 spring if you want 320. This is the clear receiver version- that does not make it clearsoft. An excellent first rifle for a low price, and pro game compatible btw.

[Spike]

Wait till you're age verified before you buy.

And do not get the aftermath m4. Aftermath's AK's can hold their own if cared for properly, but if you want a decent gun stick with a decent brand. You wouldn't enter the Daytona 500 with an '89 honda civic.

Good brands would be along the lines of: CA, ICS, G&P, King Arms, VFC

[HKGhost]

Originally Posted by tylamarre

Aftermath knight cqb, clear version $170, 375-380 fps. I suggest m100 spring if you want 320. This is the clear receiver version- that does not make it clearsoft. An excellent first rifle for a low price, and pro game compatible btw.

Really? You have a lot to learn still. At the end of the day, you get what you pay for and it ain't much. Save your money a buy a more reasonable gun that won't crap out on you before your first game. If you have to, get a Cansoft or anything else other than Aftermath as your first gun.

[D.Kovacs]

How is a clear gun not clearsoft!>!!??!?!

[Strelok]

Don't waste your time with aftermath M4's. If you want one worth your money, save up for TM, G&P or simply something that doesn't suck.

Edit:

Wtf is 'Pro game Compatable"?

Edit2:

I'm gonna step back here just to clarify. As a first gun, just keep in mind Price reflects Quality when it comes to canadian airsoft. if you're spending sub $200, don't expect wonders with such guns, there are exceptions but thats always been a gamble.

There are many brands available post Age Verification. The classifieds has both a Retailer section (For new guns) and Classifieds for players to trade, sell or buy their guns. If you keep an eye on the classifieds you can get some incredibly nice deals for cheap as people tend to undersell their guns in hopes of it selling faster.
If budget is a concern, just learn a bit of patience, wait, and save up for quality. Buying cheap guns will only lead to having internals replaced frequently and just headaches in the long term.

[Stitch_626_75]

Originally Posted by Strelok

Don't waste your time with aftermath M4's. If you want one worth your money, save up for TM, G&P or simply something that doesn't suck.

Edit:

Wtf is 'Pro game Compatable"?

Edit2:

I'm gonna step back here just to clarify. As a first gun, just keep in mind Price reflects Quality when it comes to canadian airsoft. if you're spending sub $200, don't expect wonders with such guns, there are exceptions but thats always been a gamble.

There are many brands available post Age Verification. The classifieds has both a Retailer section (For new guns) and Classifieds for players to trade, sell or buy their guns. If you keep an eye on the classifieds you can get some incredibly nice deals for cheap as people tend to undersell their guns in hopes of it selling faster.
If budget is a concern, just learn a bit of patience, wait, and save up for quality. Buying cheap guns will only lead to having internals replaced frequently and just headaches in the long term.

Thanks! I don't want to buy anything crappy because I want to make the money that I spend worth it. I guess I really should have asked what people have had better experience with TM, G&G or whatever... I want to try to get something with as much metal as possible so I can know it's going to stand up longer than if it's plastic and gets hit or something!

Thanks to everyone for all the help so far!

[Shell Shock]

wow... a non av'ed member... who actually listens to advice?... my friends... this calls for a sanity check..

to op: as a first m4 styled gun, you really cant beat g&g. if you can, go for the proline. worked on one stock, it was beautiful... metal 8mm bushings, bearing spring guide and great internals/ externals.. at the end of the day its your choice, but you seem to be in the right direction

[L473ncy]

I'm surprised no one's mentioned for the OP to contact JOC the local airsoft club....

The website is: http://www.jocairsoft.com/forums/

And I believe Gish is the person to talk to (he's also an admin on JOC). I also assume you're playing at Trek. If so I believe there is usually a verifier there on JOC club nights so I'm told.

If you want quick swapping, then the SystemA PTW is what you're looking for but they carry a hefty price tag. Otherwise getting an ICS will do the trick as well since it has a split gearbox design and you should be able to swap springs relatively faster than a "standard" airsoft gun.

It's plenty doable if you plan ahead and say "Well I'm at trek today shooting 330 FPS and 3 days from now I'll be at an outdoor field and want to shoot at 380 FPS I'll just swap springs at home when I get the time in the next 3 days" then budget some time aside to swap the spring at home then you're good to go.

PS: Since you're willing to spend the money on something that's not crap; a CA, G&P, VFC, or KWA should be perfect for you. Also, if you're willing to spend even more money then you can't beat the SystemA but they usually require you to part with an arm, a leg, and your first born. Although, there is the "CTW" or Celsius Training Weapon which is a PTW clone but you'll have to find reviews of it yourself and see if it's the right thing for you. Honestly there's plenty of options and I've only listed a few that are available to you.

[m102404]

I've fiddled with more than a few different types of guns over the years and will pitch in a couple of personal thoughts.

1. It's doable to have a switch setup gun that'll shoot both indoor and outdoor velocities. It typically requires "a rifle and a half" where you have one lower+mechbox and two uppers. By varying the length of the inner barrel you end up with one setup that shoots sub indoors...and another that shoots mid-outdoors (i.e. a 40-50fps difference). It's a fair bit of fiddling and work to get that setup right...and you basically end up with two rifles....see last point. Doable? Yes.....Effective? Yes....Cost effective? Not really....Labour intensive? Yes (especially if you don't know your way around things)

2. I've had several ICS rifles...and you can certainly get extra upper mechboxes to swap one in depending on what FPS you want to shoot. You typically end up fiddling with the hopup and or adjusting sights too. IMHO, I don't care much for ICS rifles. They're so-so IMO. I prefer either "good old" M4 AEGs or other platforms altogether. Effective? Yes...Cost Effective? Yes...Polished/nice? M'eh, so-so...Compatible with all accessories? Not always

3. The SystemA PTW is a rock solid platform...if it's working reliably. They are expensive. But the trigger response, accuracy, range (the hopup system is very, very good) and ease of swapping out uppers/cylinders/etc...is second to none. You can spend a lot of time, money and effort to get a setup that is somewhat close to what a PTW can inherently do...but it'll be close at best. Effective? Yes....Cost Effective? I would actually say Yes to this from an overall perspective....Newbie Airsofter Friendly? From a out of pocket sense, No

4. When it comes right down to it...IMO...there is no "one gun that does it all". I strongly recommend that you get something that suits you for CQB...and another that suits you for field games. You can economize that a bit by picking a weapons that share magazines/batteries/accessories (but I'd tend to get the sights setup for each one and just leave 'em where they work). By the time you fiddle with all of the above...you'll be hard pressed not to find yourself at the point where you could have simply bought another rifle altogether. And...one can serve as a backup rifle to the other...which is nice peace of mind when you spend a month+ preparing for a big game and start to worry about your rifle crapping out on you (which happens all the time).

So...in the end I suppose I'd suggest that you either get 2 rifles...or a PTW (but it's hard to recommend that since they're so expensive...worth it, but pricey).

So far as brands go...
"Good old" full metal guns are a solid purchase. CA, G&P, King Arms, VFC. The VFC's out now are "sportline" mechboxes...not bad, but not great internals...nice externals though. King Arms are beautiful rifles. G&P are very nice. CA are ok...solid...internals are so so.

The "cheapo" guns are just that. VERY attractive price point...but generally lousy internals and so-so external builds. They'll get you by though.

First and foremost set a budget. Rifle/gear/other bits you need/etc... Price check that so see if it's realistic...adjust budget as appropriate.

I would highly recommend against "cheaping out and settling for something less that what you were aiming for just because that's all that appeared that was available". It happens all the time though. What you end up with is a sub-standard (to your standards) rifle with little resale value/interest that's eaten up your money/space and time.

Just my $0.02...best of luck with things

Tys

[DEATH2000]

I used my ICS M4 both indoor and at outdoor games. It shot 320 so it was suitable for indoors but it also had the range and accuracy to be decent outdoors.

One good option is the ARES M4. It has a quick change spring set up. Remove the stock and buffer tube and you remove a screw and an allen key and the spring quide is removable. Takes 5 mins to complete once you know how to do it. I'm not sure what the adaptability for external parts is, but they do have a metal body and look quite nice. Their is one currently for sale on the JOC boards.